1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electronic devices and specifically, is directed to the manufacture of compact, precision semiconductor on-chip resistors and precision resistor array devices having improved properties.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional on-chip resistors made of TaN or polysilicon are either placed within the multi-level Back End of Line (BEOL) interconnect layers or placed on the surface of a Si substrate. For TaN precision on-chip resistors which are placed within the metal levels, heat dissipation, thermally induced electromigration (EM) of neighboring interconnect wires, and the space occupancy are all of some concern. For polysilicon resistors which are placed on the surface of the Si substrate, precision control of resistance (control of doping level), doping uniformity, resistance variation due to temperature, and space occupancy are also of serious concerns. Therefore, there is a need to develop a compact precision resistor configuration with good thermal dissipation and less EM impacts on BEOL interconnects.
It would be highly desirable to provide a new on-chip, ultra-compact, and programmable resistor configuration and a method of forming such on-chip, ultra-compact, and programmable resistors, e.g., in CMOS technology.